Snowflake
by Tsukiko no Yuki
Summary: [Complete][SasuSaku][Threeshot]She said 'I love you'. And then the snow began to fall. Dedicated to my most beloved best friend and boyfriend.
1. I

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.**

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This fanfiction was originally made for Narutofan Forum's SasuSaku Fanclub's winter-themed contest, but it was finished too late to be handed in. Either way, I wanted to release it anyway...

So here, I present to you the second fanfiction dedicated to my best friend/almost-to-be boyfriend that passed away September 10th, taking my heart along with him, but leaving me three treasured things; one was his beloved PS2, another our memories, and the third my passion for snow and rain, because it snowed/rain every time we came across each other in the school grounds.

And it snowed the first day we talked for _real _instead of just ignoring each other out of shyness. And it snowed the day I realized I had a crush on you... (though it rained on the day I realized I loved you)

But sun melts snow. And it was bright sunlight the day that motorbike hit you when you were halfway across the street...

Anyway, I present to you my SasuSaku fanfic:

Snowflake

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**1: I**

He had always despised the snow. When his mother had, chuckling, asked why, he had responded: 'It's so cold. When you touch it, you begin to freeze, and it feels like you're turning to ice.'

But still, his mother made him go out every time it snowed. 'Go play,' she told him with a smile. 'You'll see that the snow is not as bad as you think.'

One particular winter – the year before his life would turn upside-down – he asked his mother, 'Okaa-san, why do you love the snow so much?'

The question took her by surprise, but she merely smiled. 'I met my first love when it snowed.'

'Was it otou-san?'

'Yes, Sasuke-chan. Maybe you'll meet your first love too, in the snow.'

'No,' he scowled. 'Girls are stupid. They are annoying.'

The remark only made his mother laugh. 'Maybe you won't think so when you meet your first love.'

¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-¨.-¨

And that was how he first had met her.

In the snow.

Just as his mother had predicted…

His first love.

'Who're you?'

He had been walking around in the grounds by himself, only frowning at the sight of the white sheets of snow covering every single corner of every single place.

Then, he had heard her little, tiny voice emerge from her tiny lips.

'Who're you?'

Her large, emerald orbs had carried slight fear when they gazed into his obsidian ones. He had remained silent, before replying steadily.

'I am Uchiha Sasuke. And you?'

The little girl had brushed away some pastel pink strands from her face. 'I-I am Haruno S-Sakura.' Some more fright appeared in her gorgeous eyes as she backed away somewhat from the boy. 'Y-you… you won't h-h-hit me, right?'

He had inspected her up and down. Her body was fragile and tiny; she was wearing a red long-sleeved sweater, a red skirt, white stockings that were almost transparent, red shoes and a white scarf.

'No,' he had replied at last. 'No, I won't.'

The girl hesitated. 'You promise?'

'Aa.'

Relaxing, a smile found its way onto the girl's face, making her eyes sparkle in a fascinating way that captured Sasuke's interest. 'Do you like snow?'

'… No, I don't,' he had answered.

'I love snow,' she went on, beaming. 'Why don't you love the snow?'

'It's cold,' he scowled. 'I don't like it.'

'Are you afraid of the cold?' she wondered curiously. The innocent question angered him. _I'm not afraid of anything!_

'No,' he snapped.

'Then come play with me!' she giggled.

'Fine. What should we play?'

She grinned, and then sat down in the snow, apparently making something that she then threw at him. Taken aback by her sudden action, he hadn't been unable to dodge it perfectly, and received some of the icy snow on his throat with a shiver. 'Let's throw snowballs at each other!'

And she ran off. Promptly making a snowball too, he began running after her with a smirk.

¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-¨.-¨

They seemed to play for hours. But in Sasuke's opinion, he had never had that much fun. Though he still found girls annoying, he had to admit this one wasn't. As he chased her and occasionally threw snowballs and got hit, he laughed more than he had done in his entire life.

'Sasuke-kun!' Sakura gasped as the snowball made its way to the target's throat – since Sakura's scarf had long ago fallen off somewhere in the empty training grounds. 'That was mean!'

Sasuke smirked at her attempt to throw another snowball at him, which missed by several meters… until he noticed that she was charging at him. Before he knew it, he had been tackled to the ground, and they rolled around in the snow, laughing.

Suddenly, he found her on top of him, and both seemed silenced by the unexpected closeness. Sasuke could feel his cheeks turning somewhat warm, as Sakura looked around. 'It's already dark,' she stated. 'I've got to go home.'

'Me too,' he said, as she crawled off him and the two sat upright on the ground, when he noticed her scarf beside him, and handed it to her. 'Here. Your scarf.'

'Thanks,' she smiled and arose, and he could feel something stir in his heart.

And just as he thought with angst that they may not meet again, he felt something touch his cheek, and he was just able to see her lips detach from it in time before seeing her run off. 'Goodbye, Sasuke-kun!' she shouted. 'I love you!'

For a long time, he sat there and stared at her retreating back. Even when she was out of sight, he continued to look in the same direction. That was when he noticed that he was still sitting in the snow, and more snow was falling, too.

He reached out a hand to let one of the snowflakes fall onto the palm of it. Somehow, it didn't seem so cold anymore…


	2. Love

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

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**2: Love **

'Kakashi-sensei! Why do we have to do such a boring mission?' the hyperactive, blonde boy complained as he carried some Christmas tree's lights.

'You're still genins,' Kakashi responded. 'And besides, if you didn't do it, who would?'

Pouting, Naruto increased his speed to get the work done faster. 'Where's Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan, anyway?'

'They're going to fetch some Christmas trees,' Kakashi explained.

'How unfair!' Naruto sulked. 'They get to do the fun stuff! I get to do the slave work!'

'Oi! Hurry up, brat,' a man said as he walked past Naruto, a box of decorative angels in his arms.

'Yeah, yeah,' Naruto muttered. 'I wonder how they're doing, anyway?'

¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-.¨-¨.-¨

'Sasuke-kun,' she smiled. 'Don't you just love the winter? I mean, spring is the best, but winter… it's beautiful too, isn't it? But in another way.'

'Hn.' Sasuke picked up one of the firs and slung it across his shoulder. 'Let's get moving.'

'Yeah.' More gently, Sakura picked up another of the firs. 'Sasuke-kun, do you remember when we first met?'

Silence. 'Yes, I do.'

'And you said you didn't like the snow.'

'… Aa.'

'And then, we played in it until dark, and we had lots of fun… and you laughed so much.' A sorrowful look appeared in her eyes. 'That was long ago, wasn't it?'

'Aa.'

'You don't laugh… not like _that_… anymore.'

'Times have changed,' he sharply stated.

'It isn't time, though,' she answered. 'It isn't time which has changed it all.' _It's the things that have changed. _

He grunted in disapproval.

'But, you know, Sasuke-kun…'

She turned her gaze upwards at the white sky. '… no matter how long time passes or how much things change, I'll never stop loving you. You know that, right?'

He stopped in his tracks to face her, and when she noticed, she halted as well. 'Sasuke-kun?' She didn't recognize the emotions that were displayed in his eyes. Was it sadness, tenderness, happiness or anger? She couldn't make it out. It was such a thoroughly mixed blend that she couldn't see his true mood.

'I -,' he began, but was abruptly cut across as Kakashi and Naruto entered.

'Oi, Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan!' Naruto exclaimed. 'You done yet?'

'No, not exactly,' Sakura grinned. 'But you don't need to help.'

'But I want to,' Naruto burst out and grabbed hold of two firs at once. 'C'mon, let's go!'

Shutting his mouth again, Sasuke followed his two teammates. Kakashi watched them in amusement when he suddenly felt something fall onto his nose. He looked up, just to see flakes of snow start falling.

_Snow this early? _he thought. _It hasn't even become cold enough yet._

'Kakashi-sensei!' he then heard them calling. 'Are you coming?'

'Yes, I'm coming,' he responded before proceeding towards his students. _Strange. It's almost like something special made the snow come early…_


	3. You

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

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**3: You **

'Sakura-chan?' Naruto looked doubtfully at his best friend, who was sitting on the bench – the very bench she had been abandoned on three years ago, by her first and only love. Sakura didn't meet his eyes. Instead, she gazed at the road that went towards… yes, towards where?

'I'm okay, Naruto,' she emotionlessly replied. 'Don't you want to go back to Hinata? She's waiting for you to return, you know.'

'Yeah…' Naruto hesitated. 'But she's concerned about you too.'

'I'm fine.' She tried to smile, but having known her for so long, Naruto knew it was fake. He didn't say it out loud, though… it was bad enough as it was. 'Really.'

'Sakura-chan…' Naruto heaved a sigh. 'You know, you're allowed to cry. You won't be weak if you do.'

Even the false smile was wiped away from her lips. '… I am weak. That's what he always said.'

'… But he's not around anymore, Sakura-chan.'

'I know.'

A tense silence fell between the two ex-teammates and best friends. Naruto could feel something in his heart fall apart as he watched his ex-crush sitting there, looking uncharacteristically… blank. It was a look he recognized in _him_…

… a look they'd never see again.

'You know, I've cried enough,' she stated, in a foolish attempt to make him go away. 'I did cry a lot when shishou-sama said he was…' The word still made her heart ache. '… dead.'

He didn't respond. Instead, he only stared intently at the pink-haired kunoichi. Sakura went on, encouraged to continue with her speech: 'Maybe it's time to move on.'

'…' Naruto still failed to reply. At least, he heaved a sigh. 'Well, if you really say so…'

Sakura felt some relief awaken in her heart, but she could still sense the worry he felt. After all, for a long time, she had been the most important to him, all that he had left. Now, she was replaced by Hinata, his one true love.

_But not all love stories end happily_, Sakura bitterly reminded herself. She wasn't jealous. Not at all. She was happy for her two friends…

… but she could still not avoid to feel resentful about how love's true appearance could be.

'Love is beautiful, Sakura,' she remembered her mother saying when her parents had divorced. 'Love is the most wondrous thing that can ever exist, the thing that can bring you more joy than anything else could. But you should not forget that love can be bitter. It can be the thing that brings you the outmost pain. But then again… I guess that when you do fall in love, you forget all about the bad things.'

Yes, indeed. She had forgotten about her mother's warning when she had fallen in love with Sasuke. And now she faced the consequences.

_Bitter, painful love. Beautiful nonetheless. _

She sighed and finally gathered the courage to face her friend. 'Naruto, you should better head back to Hinata.'

'I guess…,' he murmured. 'Well, cheer up soon, Sakura-chan. I'll see you around.' And with those words, he walked away.

Just then, something cold touched her cheek. Surprised, she looked up at the sky.

_Snow… _

A shimmering tear-droplet, similar to a crystal, found its way slowly down her cheek.

'Sasuke-kun…,' she murmured, feeling an immense pain paralyze her body.

It was not physical pain. It was not the kind of pain that made you wish that you'd just die instead of being tortured. No, it was the mental kind, the kind that was much worse, the kind that makes you wish it really hurt instead.

Because when you're physically tortured, you can't think. All your thoughts are absorbed by the pain, but when you're mentally tortured…

… all you can do is think. The thoughts swirled in her mind, over and over again. The memories, the failure, his death, the news, the pain, the secret mourning, the pretended happiness, the frustration over her pathetic weakness…

Everything came back to torment her, as she relived the happiness… and the sadness.

_There're always two sides of everything_, she remembered reading somewhere. _You can't find a coin without a front and a back._

Love is the same. You can't have the beautiful love… 

_… without the bitterness._

Love is miraculous.

But disastrous. 

_It can make you feel that you've nothing to lose, that you can just do about anything possible… _

_… but it can also turn you into a living dead. _

'Sasuke-kun…' She repeated his name, over and over again. It was like each time she repeated it, she felt the pain strike her again. Yet, she kept doing so. Because it was better to _feel_ the pain, than walk around in a daze, aware that you are being tortured, but pretending you aren't.

'Stupid Sasuke-kun…,' she whispered. 'Stupid, stupid Sasuke-kun…'

'Who did you call stupid?'

For a moment, she was stunned. Absolutely stunned. The pain left her body for once, and albeit fearing of what she might see, she turned her head up to face the source of the voice.

There he was. Black hair, obsidian eyes, pale skin, wearing his trademark smirk. There was no way she could've mistaken him for another person.

But… he was…

'… dead?' He chuckled, as though reading her thoughts.

'… You're… real…?' She could hardly believe it. But then, who would? She reached out a hand to touch his arm… only to find that it wasn't just a vision.

'Yeah, I'm real.'

'But… Tsunade-sama said –'

'The corpse they found,' he explained, 'was fake. That was merely to keep you away from me, because I needed to fight alone. I needed to defeat Itachi on my own.'

For a moment, rage awakened in her. So all this time, she had been in pain… for nothing? 'Why?' she questioned, her voice quivering with anger, 'Didn't you just tell us to stay away? Why did you make us mourn for you? Why…' She was always on the verge of tears. '… did you turn me into such a… a… _wreck_?'

At first, he didn't respond. Then, the statement that came from his lips astounded her… but yet, it did not, as it was all too familiar. 'You really _are _annoying.'

'What do you mean?' she yelled at him. 'What do you mean, "annoying"? Do you even _know_ what I've been through? Do you even know how… _worried _I was?'

'It was better that way.' His eyes showed no remorse, no mercy. 'You'd have died.'

'I _thought _you were dead!'

'Sakura…'

'And you call me "annoying"? Did you even know –'

'Sakura, it's snowing.'

She glared at him, still angered. 'What about it?'

'Do you still remember how we first met?'

'… Yes.'

'And you said you loved me?'

'…'

'I never gave a response, did I?'

'You did. You rejected me,' she claimed, 'Don't you remember?'

'I never rejected your feelings,' he denied. 'I rejected, however, your tries to make me go out with you.'

'The last night,' she pressed on, 'I confronted you.'

'I never replied.'

'You called me annoying.'

'You are.'

'…'

'But maybe that's why I love you.'

Sakura's eyes widened. _What? _'Sasuke-kun, you –'

She was interrupted by the kiss. As his lips met hers, she forgot about everything else.

_Yes, _she thought. _Love can be disastrous._

But it can be miraculous as well. 

And they continued kissing, as the snowflakes drifted to the ground around them.

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**Author's Note**

I was, for once, kind of delighted with how this fic turned out. Maybe because of the end... because that's what I wish would happen in real life. Actually, the sentence 'Stupid, stupid Sasuke-kun' (if you just remove 'Sasuke-kun' and insert my best friend's name) was used by me somewhat frequently after I found out the news.

Somehow, I hope that by reading this, some people will understand somewhat. For example people I've come across that have told me it is extremely mean of me to wish the motorbike rider would die when it was an accident. Yes, I'd perhaps have forgiven him about fifteen years in the future if he had mourned.

But I don't think continue to ride his motorbike even after the accident is a sign of mourning, and it isn't like he's forced to do it. According to the police and judging by his motorbike's price, he seems to come from a wealthy family. And I mean, if he was really as shocked as some people state that one can become after having accidentally killed somebody, wouldn't he have just taken the bus to his job instead? Or even friggin' stopped working, trying to recover from the shock?

Anyway, in Sakura's case, she at least had told him she loved him before he 'died'. I never did. I was afraid he'd reject me, despite all the clear signs that he wouldn't. But I guess when you first fall in love, you'd rather be 'safe than sorry'... I never realized that my carefulness would be the thing that'd hurt me the most in the end.

Okay, enough with the sob story of mine before I start to whine too much. Please review and tell me what you think about this fanfiction!

Now, if it only would start to snow for real here in Sweden as it did last year when I fell in love with him...


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